aenariasbookshelf: (out of phase)
aenariasbookshelf ([personal profile] aenariasbookshelf) wrote2008-04-21 06:19 pm
Entry tags:

New fic: Counterprophecies (Doctor Who)

Title: Counterprophecies
Author: Aenaria/[livejournal.com profile] io_aenaria
Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG
Summary: Two prophecies are given at the same time. One prophecy has the potential to shatter his entire world. The other has the potential to bring everything right back. Spoilers for episodes 4x01, 4x02, 4x03, also the Impossible Planet/the Satan Pit.
Disclaimer: Yeeeeeah, right. If I had that power I would have laid claim to Fox Mulder years ago....
Author's Notes: This all started with a hypothetical question: if the Ood's eyes are glowing red here, and they're all connected by one collective brain, does this mean that 1) the Ood from TIP/TSP are connected to this lot and 2) does this mean that TIP/TSP is happening at the exact same time as this? Which then spurred us on to thinking about the two sort of prophecies that could have been said at the exact same time. And while I told myself I was going to work on the next bit of Sonnets, this ended up falling out of the pen instead. It's not quite a reunion fic, but it's a step on the way, so to speak. Maybe it's just one more paean to the power of words. :)

Also, a gift for [livejournal.com profile] paiger1218. She knows why. :)



Counterprophecies


Eris: For the ancient Greeks, the concept of eris defines the combative nature of the universe, often resulting in agons between individuals, countries, and universal forces: Everything exists in a condition of cyclical opposites or contraries: hot-cold, good-evil, black-white, chaos-order. Conditions never remain stationary in a state of perpetual, perfect balance. Peace would naturally find its counterpart in war; hubris would find its counterpart in humility and understanding. Eris describes both the external (the universe/the macrocosm) and the internal (the individual/ the microcosm).
– Dr. D. A. Robinson


Across the reaches of space, deep in the heart of the 4th millennium earth common era, a prophecy is made. “And the lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon,” the Beast speaks, shaking them to the core with his unholy hymn.

“Don’t listen,” he orders her, using his own words to negate the poisonous influence of the beast’s words. It’s an untruth, or so he wants to believe, something designed to shake the foundations loose and place doubt in the most firmly held of beliefs.

But there’s one belief even the snarling and flame-spitting visage of the Devil right in his face can never make him doubt. “I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demigods and would-be gods...Out of all that, out of that whole pantheon if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her.” And oh, does he ever.

Still, when they are back on the TARDIS and the adventure is over for this day, the Doctor goes to visit Rose in her bedroom. He finds her naked beneath her bedcovers, skin scrubbed raw to get the air of the Sanctuary Base off of her skin, and her sobs are muffled in a pillow. He strips off his own clothes and slides into the bed, curling around her back. Her fingers entwine with his and rest against the soft skin of her stomach. “The Beast lied,” he whispers into her hair. “You are not going anywhere, I promise.”

Rose looks over her shoulder at him with a small smile. If he can believe that, then she can try to as well. So she shifts around and presses her lips to his, letting their bodies fall into one another. His eyes fall shut and he loses himself in sensation, ignoring that tiny voice in the back of his head that still speaks in the Beast’s voice. He will not doubt her though, never. With a stroke of his hand and a flick of his tongue he focuses on her, the Valiant Child in his arms who is slowly growing into something more, something bigger and brighter than just a mere child.

But the universe slowly begins to tilt out of eris, and discord sets in, a screeching off-key note in the melody.



Somewhere else, close enough in the grand scheme of time to be nearly the same moment, another set of words is spoken. The Ood, the people that the Beast consumes for its own purposes in the game, offer up their own prophecy. “I think your song must end soon.” There is a moment of puzzlement, but the Doctor brushes it off. Questions and puzzles and songs are just a part of his long, strange life, and if he stopped every time someone said something off the beaten path to him, he’d never get anything done.

Songs of heartbreak, songs of despair, and songs of freedom, he thinks as he and Donna head into the TARDIS and set it moving once more. If that was the Ood’s song, then what did they think his was? A song of adventure, maybe, something highly appropriate as they fly helter-skelter through the vortex to only knows where. Yes, that works quite well. He chooses to ignore the idea of a song of loneliness, which could apply just as well, and focus on the next thing to see and make sure that his new mate is happy on her own adventures across the stars. No matter what happens though, he can’t forget – doesn’t want to forget – the Valiant Girl who forced him to face the music and dance.



The Ood’s translation isn’t as precise as their song is, and a crucial bit of information is lost between the real words of the Ood and what the Doctor heard. They forget to mention that while one song must end, another song always begins. And that sometimes this new song that begins is far better than the previous one. The new song could be symphonic, in a sense, little bits and pieces of a theme, snatches of a melody woven throughout the four movements and not making sense until all is revealed with a bang somewhere in the grand fourth movement. However the Ood don’t know this, but they know one thing. They know another prophecy, one passed through song for ages on the Ood-Sphere and intimately connected to the Doctor’s many songs.

“She is returning.”



At yet another point in time, the songs of two universes collide and harmonize, drawing them back to their original, balanced state. It takes time, though, this process of bringing the universes back into eris. And as things in the universes come back into balance, she can slide through on the melody and the harmony to get back to her home. It’ll take her a while though, to find exactly where she needs to be. She knows this and accepts it, because she’s not the Valiant Child anymore. Rather, she’s the Valiant Woman who’s had her trial by fire and come out the other side wiser than before and knowing just what she wants.

Her first trip back to her home universe doesn’t last long; they’re still perfecting the process and she’s not even got solid form yet, just a bunch of atoms scattered between here and there. But she can still smell the air and see the river and taste the sky on her tongue. Rose looks up at the zeppelin-free sky with eyes full of determination. “I found my way back,” she whispers to the stars, imagining that maybe, just maybe he’ll hear her somehow. “I’m coming home, I promise.” One hand raises and she blows a kiss towards the stars.

She spins and walks off, feeling her atoms being drawn back to the other universe. But now she’s regained something to believe in, something once believed to be just as lost as she was but now found after a long, long time away. She believes in herself, and she believes in him…

Oh, he knows.

[identity profile] paiger1218.livejournal.com 2008-04-21 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
This is effing brilliant. Deb would be proud.

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-21 11:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Glad you like my dear. :) See, this is what I end up doing during work when I'm supposed to be focusing on figures and facts and all that boring, dry, mortgagy-type things - I end up somewhere back in ancient Greece and myth class and ooooh, this might work with Doctor Who....yeah. LOL.

[identity profile] earlgreytea68.livejournal.com 2008-04-21 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, lovely. All of these prophecies do need to be wound together, and you've done it with such beautiful imagery. And I love your closing sentence.

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-21 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for your lovely compliments! :) It was something that struck me as odd, pardon the pun, that both episodes with the Ood mentioned prophecies (or things that could be interpreted as that), and somewhere along the lines with a lot of rambling and speculating interspersed with concepts for a lit class back in college...voila. Ancient Greek cosmology-based confusion. ;)

While I'm here, I also want to thank you for all of your comments in the Sonnets series. :) I may not be the best at responding to them, but I always appreciate it. And I swear I'm not evil! *g* First, I came up with that idea even before I had the slightest idea what was going to happen in Partners in Crime, and two, the reunion is coming, I promise. *puts on innocent face, and ignores the snickers from [livejournal.com profile] paiger1218 up above>*

But seriously, thanks for all the comments. :)

[identity profile] earlgreytea68.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
No problem with all the comments! I wanted you to know that I was enjoying it!

[identity profile] harpinred.livejournal.com 2008-04-21 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
That was beautiful! And wow, I learned a new concept :)

And I hear you on the bee thing. Yikes.
Edited 2008-04-21 23:23 (UTC)

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-21 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Glad you liked! :) Credit for the concept must go to one of my old lit professors though, the one who introduced me to all of these concepts in the midst of tearing through The Iliad and The Odyssey. I just borrowed those ideas for here. ;)

And oh good lord, that bee thing made me go O_o. I totally understand where they're coming from, but hearing something that's mentioned as a bit of a running theme in DW on a real life commercial...yeah, then I start to dork out and get a bit nervous. ;) Thanks for reading! I'm very glad you liked this. :)
skybound2: (DW Ten/Rose Time&Space)

[personal profile] skybound2 2008-04-22 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
Wow. I LOVE the way you wove the Doctor's two Ood experiences together, very thought-provoking stuff, that. And I adored the scene in Rose's bedroom, very evocative writing there. Lovely, lovely work. Thanks for this.

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for your comments about it. :) The Impossible Planet two-parter are my absolute favorite episodes in all of Who, so when I heard the Ood were coming back it made me very happy, LOL. Then, of course, I had to figure out a way to connect them, and I'm very glad you thought the connection worked here. :) Thanks for reading!
skybound2: (DW Ten/Rose Hug)

[personal profile] skybound2 2008-04-22 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
They're my favorite episodes too, so I'm certainly happy to see more fic involving them!

[identity profile] smandypants.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Ooooh, you left us just on the edge! Rose is so close...

Fantastic. So fantastic that I can forgive it not being the next chapter in Sonnets. ;)

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 10:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, the way I figure is that Rose's scene takes place before Partners in Crime, so I'll let the rest of Series 4 take care of the reunion stuff. ;) Very glad you liked it. :)

And in my defense, chapters 3 and 5 of the Sonnets reunion are already written and in the hands of the beta, and I'm in the middle of working on chapters 4 and 6 (4 was a bit of a surprise chapter - didn't plan on it to be there, but the idea popped up and apparently, at least in my head, fills an impending plot hole. So it's good). That make you feel a little better? ;)

[identity profile] smandypants.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, yes it does. It's my drug of choice, so I'm happy you'll be supplying me with more soon. Would bribing you or your beta help? I hear that chocolate spurs the muse quite well...*bats eyes*

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-23 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
*perks up, but tries not to look too interested*

Chocolate, you say? Who am I to turn that down? However, for chapter 3 you'd have to go talk to my beta ([livejournal.com profile] galadriella1). She's got it there with her.

(the problem is that real life and all its annoyances gets in the way of fic, feh, leaving none of us with the time we'd like to devote to our stories. You don't know how much I'd love to just stay at home and write all damn day long...hehe).

Seriously though, I've got part four open in Word right now and am working at it. I've finally got a free night so my hands are glued to the keyboard, and with any luck I may get this part finished tonight. Yaye. :)

Does that help to take the edge of the cravings just a little bit? *g*

[identity profile] smandypants.livejournal.com 2008-04-23 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
*does boogie dance of joy*

Yes, yes it does help the cravings...and then it makes them more intense, because I know I'm gonna get a hit soon. Good luck on chapter 4. And I totally hear you about the work--why is life so freakin' *busy* all the time?

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-23 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
I wish I knew why it was so damn busy. God only knows if it wasn't I'd feel a lot better, both physically and mentally. I need a vacation and a new job, in that order. However, that doesn't look likely right now, so I'll settle for chocolate. *g*

Oh, and I just finished Chapter 4. *g* It's still in rough draft form, and I'm debating putting a little bit on the end from the TARDIS's point of view (understandable given the content of the chapter) but it is pretty much done. W00t. :D

[identity profile] smandypants.livejournal.com 2008-04-23 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
\o/ Woohoo! Yay for Chapter 4!

I vote to add TARDIS bits, but I'm very biased and don't know where you want to go with the fic beyond having the Doctor and Rose finally find each other.

I really dislike RL right now--a vacation sounds amazing. As long as we're fantasizing, lets throw in David Tennant and somewhere sunny, warm, and exotic. (Cliche? What cliche? XD)

[identity profile] rousseaulives.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
Really poignant writing, I loved the flow. Plus, the Greek student in me ooohed and aaahed. Now, I must find this Haagen Daaz commercial. :)

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Why thank you! I'm glad you liked the Greek bit as well - I pretty much lifted the definition of eris right from one of my books from my mythology class (which focused primarily on the Iliad and the Odyssey...and the Hobbit. I had a very strange teacher....) but I thought it really worked here, so I'm quite glad you ooohed and aaahed over it! :D Thanks for reading and for commenting!

The Haagen Daaz commercial was aired on Bravo cable network here in the US. Maybe they'll air it again....*is still a bit wary, LOL*
ext_23543: (Default)

[identity profile] starlightmoonla.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 06:49 am (UTC)(link)
This was absolutely beautiful to read! I love how you brought all of those elements together!

And oh the last bit was just perfect! :D Fantastic job.

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
I admit, for that last line - I loved that line in the episode, couldn't resist using it here. :D

Thanks for reading and for your comments! I'm so glad you liked it. :)

[identity profile] sunnytyler001.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 08:09 am (UTC)(link)
She's returning! Yay!
But still long weeks of wait before the Wolf & the Storm are reunited...

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I know, alas, but at least we're getting something, right? ;) I'll take what I can get before RTD drives over my heart with a twenty-foot steamroller....*g*

Thanks for reading! :)

[identity profile] lostwolfchats.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 08:34 am (UTC)(link)
O00- A lovely take on the Ood's words that gives me hope :-)

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad to be the provider of hope. :) I know, those words have the potential to be so devastating, but I'm clinging to the mad hope that they could be positive (I do have a theory that has to do with Song For Ten and ending the utter and total angst of that song that never fails to reduce me to tears, but that could just be the shipper in me. *g*). Thanks for reading and for commenting!

[identity profile] maniacalshen.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 03:42 pm (UTC)(link)
The concept is great and the ending really lovely... but your listed "Music" made me laugh. XD

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Hehe, and I'm happy to provide. XD Seriously, I think my face went all "O_o WTF?!" when I heard that on the TV behind me.

Anyways! Am really glad you like the fic. :) Thanks for reading!
ext_24538: ([S4] Rose;;waiting.)

[identity profile] xbriyeon.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
This is really good, quite brilliant. <3

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-04-22 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Why thank you! :) I'm very glad you liked it.

[identity profile] odakota-rose.livejournal.com 2008-04-23 06:02 am (UTC)(link)
That's definitely brilliant. I love the concepts you presented and the way you wove them into something hopeful. Nice job!

[identity profile] bubbles234.livejournal.com 2008-04-23 05:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh wow! :) That's stunning. There isn't really a lot else I can say on that really. :)

[identity profile] nyaaaaaauuuuuuu.livejournal.com 2008-04-23 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooh, it's all about balance, and things in equilibrium. Not the absence of actions or matter or good and evil, but a constant flux from one side to the other.

Lovely. :)

I agree - that the Doctor's song is ending means that his misery and loneliness are coming to an end, about to be balanced out by the return of one Rose Tyler. ;D

We'll see, of course, where RTD takes it...